Understanding Climate-Driven Phenological Change - Observations, Adaptations and Cultural Implications in Northeastern Siberia and Labrador/Nunatsiavut (PHENARC)

An important focus of the PHENARC project has been on qualitative climatic data from Labrador/Nunatsiavut. For this location, instrumental and qualitative meterological observations began in August 1771, when the Unitas Fratrum or Unity of the Brethren, established its first mission among the Inuit on the Labrador coast. The Moravian Brethren, as they are more commonly known, comprise a Christian church that has pre-reformation origins that go back to the Bohemian reformer Jan Hus (c. 1375-1415). Matthäus Stach (1711-1787) was the pioneer of the Moravian Greenland missionaries, and it was he who advocated missionary work among the Inuit of the Labrador coast. The data cover all the missionary stations in Labrador; Nain, Okak, Hopedale, Hebron, Ramah and Makkovik. The station with the greatest data coverage is Nain. The observations of the missionaries lasted until 1939 when they were taken over by the Canadian Meteorological Service. After World War II, the missionaries lost their ties with the Inuit population and their missionary stations were regrouped. The last missionary left Nain in 2005. However, the Moravian church is still strong in many parts of Labrador. These documentary sources form a veritable goldmine and are discussed in the papers contained in this data set.